Susan Thompson



One of the women interviewed for the oral history project is Susan Thompson, who graduated from the University of Winnipeg with a Bachelor of Arts in 1971 and went on to serve as the 40th mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is the first and only female politician to hold this particular level of office in the municipal government.

Susan is the youngest of four children and grew up in the family that owned a local shop, Brit Saddlery, which sold Western-style clothing, tack, harnesses and leather goods. In her early education she attended Lindenwood School and St. James Collegiate, both of which are situated in Winnipeg’s St. James neighborhood. However, she admits to not being a very dedicated student, and as a result failed several of her courses in high school, which resulted in her not receiving her grade twelve diploma.

Not wanting to repeat her final year of high school, Susan decided to apply for a job at the University of Winnipeg, after hearing from a friend that there was a job opening in the campus library. After working there for a year, she realized that she was going to be unable to live the kind of life that she wanted on $85 a week, and with the help of the university librarian, Mr. Wright, was able to attend classes at the Collegiate as well as work to pay for her classes. After completing her grade twelve diploma, Susan enrolled as a full-time student at the University of Winnipeg, continuing to work part-time in the campus library.

Upon graduation she worked as a retail clerk for Eaton’s, where she was met with multiple instances of the discriminatory attitudes against women that were prevalent during the early 1970’s, which is discussed during her interview. These instances, combined with the knowledge that she had gained at the University of Winnipeg, helped her realize that only by educating and standing up for themselves could women begin to make real change in society. Susan went on to successfully serve two terms as the first female mayor of Winnipeg (1992-1998), and most recently was the President and CEO of the University of Winnipeg Foundation (2003-2011).